[Harp-L] "Blue Monk" on a country-tuned diatonic

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi all, and happy 4th of July!

Yesterday I recorded a few takes on Thelonius Monk's "Blue Monk," playing a country-tuned Seydel 1847 harp (customized by Ben Bouman) in C in second position.  I last recorded this piece for my CD "The Act of Being Free in One Act" in 1994, using a standard-tuned Lee Oskar G harp in second position, which of course required plenty of overblows in order to handle the melody.  (Yes, Lee Oskar harps can be overblown, comments to the contrary notwithstanding.)  You can get all the melody notes with either harp, but with the country tuning you get a whole lot of cool chords that canât be played on the standard-tuned instrument. Check the recording out and see if you donât agree: country tuning is the way to go for this piece on the diatonic harmonica.

http://www.hunterharp.com/blue-monk-on-the-country-tuned-harp-its-all-about-the-chords/

Enjoy.

Regards, Richard Hunter

author, "Jazz Harp" (Oak Publications, NYC)
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